KML trending upward for No. 1 UConn

Rich Elliott

Updated 12:18 am, Monday, March 10, 2014

Connecticut's Kaleena Mosqqueda-Lewis drives past Rutgers' Syessence Davis during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament, Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Uncasville, Conn.
Photo: Jessica Hill, AP

UNCASVILLE -- This was supposed to be the year for Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis to further establish herself among the truly great players in the country. She was coming off an All-American sophomore season that saw her lead UConn in scoring for the second straight year en route to winning the national championship.

No longer considered to be just a shooter, Mosqueda-Lewis had made herself into a well-rounded player. However, her hopes of playing up to her potential have been spoiled by injuries and illness.

This season has been an uphill journey for Mosqueda-Lewis. It is a journey that continues with the top-ranked Huskies one win away from claiming the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament championship.

"From where she was as a freshman and where she was last year to where she is today, from what I can see from watching her every day, I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 it's like 5," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "It just hasn't been right since November. You add up all the stuff and there isn't that consistency that there used to be.

"And little by little I hope it comes back between (tonight) and whatever amount of games we have in the (NCAA) tournament."

Mosqueda-Lewis suffered a nerve contusion in her right elbow early in the second half against Stanford Nov. 11 and missed the next eight games. She would injure her left elbow against Louisville Feb. 9 before a bout with mononucleosis forced her to miss four more games.

Sunday's 83-57 victory over No. 24 Rutgers in the AAC semifinals was only her fourth game back in the lineup. Through it all, though, Mosqueda-Lewis has remained as strong mentally as possible.

"`I feel like if you want to get good results you kind of have to have a positive attitude about everything," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "Things aren't going your way and obviously that's something negative. So you've got to put a positive in there some way, and the one thing that you can control is your attitude."

In the first two games of the AAC tournament, Mosqueda-Lewis has continued to trend upward. She has scored 31 points (7-of-14 3-pointers) in 64 minutes in wins over Cincinnati and Rutgers.

Mosqueda-Lewis looked more look herself against the Scarlet Knights, finishing with 19 points (5-of-9 3-pointers) and three rebounds in 33 minutes. She made an impact early as she knocked down two 3-pointers in the first 2:51 during UConn's game-opening 13-0 run.

"She's been frustrated for a majority of the season," Auriemma said. "I don't know that that's going to help you be a really good player when you're constantly frustrated at what you can't do, what you used to be able to do and you can't do now. But knocking in some shots like she did (Sunday), that kind of helps everything."

Mosqueda-Lewis has now scored in double figures in three straight games for just the second time this season. The 19 points she scored against Rutgers Sunday represented her highest single-game total since her season-high of 21 against Memphis Jan. 22.

It was also the third time this season that she made five 3-pointers in a game. However, it was the first time she attempted more than seven 3-pointers since that game against Memphis (5-of-10). And this is the first time all season that she has played at least 30 minutes in three straight games.

"It's been hard," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "I've never really been hurt like this before. I think I've just had a lot of bad luck this year. I'm trying to pull myself out of it, and we hopefully have seven more games left. So I think I'm starting to find a rhythm. It's the perfect time for the tournament to be here."

The Huskies will face No. 3 Louisville in the tournament final tonight at Mohegan Sun Arena (7; ESPN). They will begin play in the NCAA tournament March 23 at Gampel Pavilion.

If there was ever a time for Mosqueda-Lewis to regain her All-American form, this is it. She has a history of performing well in the NCAA tournament, averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in 11 career games.

UConn senior Bria Hartley, who dealt with her own injury problems last season, believes that Mosqueda-Lewis will indeed be an impact player for the Huskies moving forward.

"At that point, when you're playing and you're not playing as well as you have in the past, teams kind of forget about you," Hartley said. "That's how I felt. It's like, `Oh, they don't want to guard me? I can really make an impact now if I step up.'

"You make them remember, `I was an All-American, and I can do this.' I think Kaleena can come back and do that."